Employment Blog

More Sexual Harassment Complaints from Missouri Department of Corrections

Over the past few years, the Missouri Department of Corrections has gobbled up headlines for being one of the most female-unfriendly places to work in the state. Now, yet another employee has come forward having filed a hostile work environment and sexual discrimination and harassment claim against the DoC. Tina Gallego is alleging that she was sexually harassed and poisoned by male guards at the Kansas City Re-Entry Center. Gallego

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New York State Allows Uber Drivers to File Unemployment

Uber drivers are generally considered independent contractors. As independent contractors, they are not entitled to certain benefits that employees generally get. There are certain lawsuits that they cannot file against their employers, they are not subject to minimum wage or overtime requirements, and lastly, they are not entitled to unemployment. However, New York State has issued Uber a major blow, ruling that their drivers are entitled to receive unemployment benefits.

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Neurosurgery Resident Alleges Hostile Work Environment Against University

Former neurosurgery resident, Rylan Brantl, is suing his former employer, the University of Missouri, for $50 million. Brantl alleges that the chief of neurosurgery, N. Scott Litofsky, harassed and fired him without good cause. He further alleges that Litofsky created a hostile work environment during the years that Brantl worked there, between 2008 and 2013. In the lawsuit, Brantl says he was forced to repeat a year of his residency

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Healthcare Non-Profit Settles Wage Theft Lawsuit

A healthcare non-profit in Springfield, Missouri under fire from federal authorities amid allegations of bribery and kickbacks to Arkansas lawmakers. At the same time that Preferred Family Healthcare was lavishing Arkansas legislators with massive amounts of money, the company was refusing to pay its employees overtime wages. According to the lawsuit filed by Frances Smith, Preferred Family Healthcare (PFC) neglected to pay her overtime regardless of how many hours she

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Cerner Pays $4.5 Million to Settle Wage Theft Class Action

Among the most common labor disputes are those in which employees are misclassified in one form another. The majority of employees are eligible for minimum wage benefits, workers comp, and overtime. However, some employees are not eligible for overtime, and independent contractors, who are presupposed to be business owners, are not entitled to any of those. Most recently, Cerner Corporation attempted to fight off a class-action misclassification lawsuit in which

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Former Mizzou Coach Suing for Racial Discrimination

Former assistant track and field coach, Carjay Lyles, is sueing Mizzou over racial discrimination that he alleges he experienced during his time at the university. Carjay Lyles says he faced several instances of discrimination during his four years coaching at the university between 2013 and 2017. The lawsuit names head coach Brad Halter, associate director of compliance Mitzi Clayton, and the board of curators. Lyles says that Halter referred to black

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EEOC Takes Aim at Missouri Truck Company for Sexual Harassment

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, sexual harassment and misconduct lawsuits have taken center stage across a nation that has had to take a hard look in the mirror. In terms of lawsuits, companies can be held liable when an employee files a complaint against a co-worker or a superior who is employed by the company and the company fails to take action. According to the law, every employee

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Illinois School District Settles Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Against Principal

The principal of an Illinois high school recently settled a lawsuit against the district alleging sex discrimination. Karen Gauen, who will retire after this school year ends, sued the school district, claiming that she was paid less money than her male predecessor. The $200,000 settlement was unanimously approved by the school board. Gauen, who expressed regret over suing the school district, had originally sought $1.5 million in damages. The district,

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Hospital Allegedly Fires Medical Coder for Refusing to Fraudulently Bill Patients

Most employee discrimination lawsuits involve an employer who uses discriminatory hiring practices to weed out potential hires. In certain circumstances, a hostile work environment is created by a company-wide culture of discrimination. There is another class of employment law altogether that relates not to protected people but to protected actions. These often involve a company retaliating against an employee for filing a complaint or blowing the whistle on an illegal

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United Van Lines Charged with Employee Misclassification

Misclassification lawsuits are among the most common labor disputes between employers and employees. Often, employees are misclassified as independent contractors for the sake of improving a company’s bottom line. The law draws a firm distinction between an independent contractor and an employee, though sometimes that line is admittedly blurry. One such profession that sees individuals take jobs as both employees and independent contractors is truck driving. A truck driver working

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Union Claims Federal Contractor has Misclassified Employees

Misclassification lawsuits generally involve the intentional classification of a laborer as an independent contractor as opposed to an employee. Since employees benefit from things like minimum wage and mandatory time and a half for overtime, companies that classify laborers as contractors can work around such restrictions. However, misclassification lawsuits can be filed when an employer underpays a worker for any reason. Wage theft lawsuits can and do fall under the

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McDonald’s Sexual Harassment Lawsuits Span Nine States

The #MeToo movement continues to see aftershocks ripple across various industries. The latest is from McDonald’s employees in nine different states. That includes one right here in Missouri. 10 McDonald’s employees are alleging sexual assault or harassment within McDonald’s franchises. A St. Louis teenager is alleging unwanted groping, unwanted sexual propositions, indecent exposure, and lewd comments by supervisors. She is one of 10 women across the U.S. who is saying

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Is Implicit Bias Training Helping or Hurting American Workplaces?

After multiple incidents of African-American patrons having the police called on them at various Starbucks, the company took a day off from business to offer its employees “implicit bias training.” Implicit bias training is a controversial method of making individuals aware of their ingrained biases, prejudices, and negative reactions to others. The program, while notable because of Starbucks, has been used by corporate giants such as Google and Facebook for

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Uber Targeted in Sexual Discrimination Lawsuit

A former Uber employee is suing the company for what she claims is a pay discrimination lawsuit. She is further alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination against the company. Ingrid Avendaño worked as an Uber driver for three years beginning in 2014. Avendaño’s lawsuit alleges that Uber did not do enough to address complaints concerning sexual harassment. This came a week after Uber announced it would no longer force passengers

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New Lawsuit Targets MO Fire Department for Race Discrimination

A new racial discrimination lawsuit against the Kansas City Fire Department is going to Federal Court. The case involves the interests of African-American firefighters in Kansas City who have been routinely passed up for promotions, despite the fact that these individuals appear to have the necessary qualifications for the job, the requisite experience, and the time served. Now, another case will be heard in front of a federal and not

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U.S. Senate Addresses Sexual Harassment on Capitol Hill

The U.S. Senate passed a bill co-authored by Missouri congressman Roy Blunt that effectively modernized the process of reporting sexual harassment on Capitol Hill. The bill was backed by both Republican and Democratic leaders. The law will replace legislation passed in 1995 called the Congressional Accountability Act. Proponents of the new measure called the old legislation an “antiquated policy” that forced accusers into mandatory counseling and mediation, among other things.

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How Emojis Lost a Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

When sending a text message, one of the many things lost in translation is inflection. Words, by their very nature, lend themselves to interpretation. Not only is it harder to communicate via text, it is harder to get a feel for the meaning behind what people are saying. If we know the person well, that is one thing. When texts are shared between coworkers, that can be quite different. Consider

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EEOC Takes on Albertsons Pharmacy for Language Policy

The EEOC initiated a lawsuit against Albertsons Pharmacy for a policy that prohibits employees from speaking Spanish while on the job. The Albertsons in question is located in San Diego, but recently, other cases involving prohibitions on certain hairstyles have garnered national attention in the media. Recently, a judge ruled that while employers cannot discriminate against a person because of his or her race, they can discriminate against a person

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California Court Ruling Could Make Uber Drivers Employees

The so-called gig economy has made it much easier for employers to claim that their hired labor is made up of independent contractors as opposed to employees. The distinction is important because employees are entitled to a host of benefits to which independent contractors are not entitled. That includes the right to overtime pay, health insurance, workers’ compensation, and the right to sue under certain forms of discrimination. In other

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Danforth Center Terminates Researcher on Suspicion of Sexual Harassment

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center recently dismissed one its researchers amid complaints of workplace sexual harassment. Since the #MeToo social media movement raised awareness around the perils of simply being a woman in the workplace, workplaces have been under scrutiny to address the problem of sexual harassment. Those that do not could find themselves on the wrong end of a lawsuit. Those that do can avoid one entirely. Danforth

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Missouri Supreme Court Set to Decide on LGBTQ Discrimination

Missouri is one of a number of states that does not include protections for the LGBTQ community in terms of civil rights issues such as workplace discrimination. That, however, could change as the Missouri Supreme Court will decide whether the Missouri Human Rights Act should extend beyond race, religion, nation of origin, sex, disability, and age. Legislative attempts to extend anti-discrimination protections to sexual orientation and gender identity have proven

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Hertz Forced to Pay $45,000 in Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

Norman Newton was actively recruited by Hertz for a sales position after they had spotted his resume online. Newton had over 10 years experience in car sales and Hertz appeared enthusiastic about scheduling him for an interview. When he got there, however, the manager who interviewed him expressed reservations about the fact that he required a cane to walk. Newton was passed up for the job and Hertz ended up

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Another Dreadlocks Discrimination Lawsuit Has Lawyers Trying a New Approach

A black woman who had a job offer rescinded because she refused to change her hairstyle is hoping to take her case to the Supreme Court. Chastity Jones of Alabama was offered a job as a customer service representative in 2010. An HR manager later told Jones that dreadlocks “tend to get messy” and that she would need to change her hairstyle in order to be considered for the job.

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Missouri Senate to Vote on Whistleblower Protections for Government Employees

One of the casualties of Missouri’s SB 43 were protections for whistleblowers from employer retaliation. A Missouri Senate vote could restore some of those protections – at least for government employees. Whistleblowers were believed to be collateral damage in a wide-reaching and controversial tort-reform measure that sought to limit damages in employment discrimination lawsuits, while simultaneously raising the standard of proof in these cases. The bill, which caused an uproar

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Women’s Basketball Coach Reaches Settlement in Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

Employees can be fired, generally speaking, for any reason other than a handful of protections that are basic to civil rights or work against the public good. To that end, employees may not be fired on the basis of their skin color, religion, nation of origin, gender, or disability. In addition, employees cannot be fired for bringing to light crimes committed by their employer or making known any aspect of

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Are Insurance Salespersons Independent Contractors?

Misclassification lawsuits are among the most commonly litigated labor disputes. They involve the misclassification of individuals that more closely fit the definition of an employee than an independent contractor. While employees are entitled to certain benefits, including overtime, independent contractors have the freedom to set their own hours and take or leave jobs. Sometimes, however, employers willfully misclassify employees as independent contractors, while simultaneously expecting them to report to work

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Missouri Department of Corrections Loses Yet Another Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

In what has become a troubling trend for Missouri Department of Corrections, another employee has won a sexual harassment lawsuit against the department. The state paid out another $600,000 to settle a lawsuit brought on by Michelle Findley, a prison guard, who said that male employees referred to her using sexually derogatory names. Findley, who wears her hair short, was also called a lesbian and shown pictures of a penis.

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Jefferson County Public Schools Forced to Pay Out on Another Lawsuit

In the aftermath of a trial that saw Karen Ray, a Jefferson County High School journalism teacher, awarded $225,000 in punitive damages for sexual and age discrimination, two new trials emerged targeting the very same school district. The original suit filed by Ray alleged that she had been bullied out of her job and endured threats from the administration. She said this resulted in a hostile work environment. Among the

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Man Alleges Missouri Company Revoked Employment Offer After Learning He Was Gay

Mark Horton was working as the vice president of sales and marketing at Celtic Healthcare in Illinois when a recruiter hired by a Missouri firm, Midwest Geriatric Management thought he would be a good fit for an opening they had. Horton applied for the position and was well liked. He was offered the job. After accepting the position, the owners of MGM were enthusiastic about him taking the job. They

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Waitresses at IHOP Take Sexual Misconduct Case to Federal Court

11 women and one man are taking their case to Federal Court against the International House of Pancakes. The plaintiffs allege that managers at the IHOPs that they worked for in Glen Carbon and Alton, Illinois acted indifferently amid their numerous complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct against staff. The lawsuit comes at the same time that increased awareness concerning sexual harassment has made global headlines thanks to the #MeToo

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Missouri Trucking Company Found to Have Violated Whistleblower Protections

In 2014, a Missouri trucking company unlawfully damaged a former employee’s reputation after he got medical attention for an injury sustained on the job. In 2008, the driver informed his employer that he had sustained a back injury. It was serious enough that he had to be prescribed pain medication that would prevent him from operating a motor vehicle. When he was ready to return to work, he found he

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Misclassification Identified as Serious Threat to American Workers

One major area of concern for modern workers is how the so-called “gig economy” impacts their classification as an employee. With more freelancers and contractors entering the marketplace, employees still have several benefits to which freelancers are not entitled. These include the right to file discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuits against their employers. Employees are also entitled to overtime pay and unemployment should they be let go. This has led

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Kansas City Firefighter Denied Promotion on Grounds of Race Wins Lawsuit

Tarshish Jones, a veteran Kansas City firefighter, won a $356,000 workplace discrimination settlement against the KC fire department in October of last year. The settlement came after Missouri legislators changed the law raising the standard of proof in discrimination cases. Beforehand, employees claiming workplace discrimination need only prove that discrimination played into an overall decision-making process that saw employees of a protected class passed up for promotions or fired. Under

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Missouri Legislature Seeks to Put Further Restrictions on Employee Lawsuits

Missouri workers’ right to sue their companies for workplace discrimination has been the subject of widespread tort reform over the past couple of years. The controversial SB 43 included measures that: Shield perpetrators of sexual misconduct from being directly sued by their victims. Make it easier for employers to discriminate against their employees. Limits punitive damages for retaliatory firings. Roll back protections for whistleblowers. Now, the Republican-controlled legislature is looking

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Bill to Force Arbitration in Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits Dies

A bill that would have forced Missouri’s workers to settle workplace discrimination lawsuits through private arbitration as opposed to the courts has died in committee. The bill would have strengthened the enforceability of employee contracts that require employees to settle workplace discrimination lawsuits via private arbitration as opposed to the court. The bill would have also made it much more difficult for courts to toss the agreements. The proposed bill

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More Sexual Misconduct Complaints Against Missouri Legislature

Since strengthening its policies against sexual harassment complaints in 2015, the Missouri legislature has faced twice as many allegations of sexual misconduct as it did in the two years prior. Whether this is a result of more misconduct being committed by legislators or it is the impact of having created an environment in which victims are more comfortable making their complaints known remains unclear. In 2015, Todd Richardson took over

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Federal Government Suspends St. Louis Housing Program

One of the unintended consequences of Senate Bill 43, that saw workplace protections rolled back and made workplace discrimination lawsuits more difficult to win, was St. Louis’s suspension from FHAP (Fair Housing Assistance Program). Last year, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development contacted Gov. Eric Greitens, who signed the bill into law, with concerns about the bill. They stated in a letter dated July 14, 2017, that the

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US Court Rules Discriminating Against Employees for Wearing Dreadlocks is Legal

The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the EEOC, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of Chastity Jones. Jones filed a discrimination lawsuit after having an offer of employment rescinded by Catastrophe Management Services located in Mobile, Alabama. They said her dreadlocks violated company policy on personal grooming. While it is true that dreadlocks are associated with African-American culture, the court ruled that because a hairstyle is not

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Is Sexual Favoritism a Form of Gender Discrimination?

Sexual discrimination in the workplace usually conjures images of sexual harassment or gender exclusion for promotions or executive positions. In one interesting case from California in 2005, female employees sued the Department of Corrections because they were passed up for promotions given to employees who were involved in consensual sexual relationships with the Deputy Warden. The case was brought by two female corrections officers who alleged that the Deputy Warden

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Former Hospital Employee Alleges Hostile Workplace in Discrimination Lawsuit

Kevin Anderson, a former employee of Mercy Villa and Mercy Hospital, has filed a lawsuit against the hospital alleging that he was fired for reporting instances of workplace harassment. The lawsuit alleges that Anderson endured a hostile work environment in which other employees called him racial slurs. Anderson claims that staff referred to him as “boy” and told him that he was not allowed to wear a Mercy Villa t-shirt

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Amendments to Missouri Human Rights Act Shield Perpetrators of Sexual Misconduct

Among the many obstacles that Missouri’s Senate Bill 43 placed in front of Missouri workers attempting to receive compensation for employer malfeasance, it also shielded those responsible for perpetrating sexual misconduct in the workplace from being directly held accountable. An employee can still sue his or her employer for fostering a hostile work environment, but the individual responsible for the sexual misconduct can no longer be sued under Missouri law.

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Federal Court Finds in Favor of Transgender Funeral Director

In a case that pitted religious freedom against gender expression, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in favor of a transgender funeral director who was fired from her job because of her gender expression. She disclosed her intent to transition to her bosses, who then fired her, the complaint said. The court determined that a failure to conform to gender stereotypes was not a legal reason

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